Curbing greed, choosing right time, teamwork key challenges in investigative journalism: Shahed Mohammad Ali

One of the biggest challenges in investigative journalism is controlling one’s inner urges and greed, said Daily Samakal editor Shahed Mohammad Ali. 

He made the comment while speaking at the inauguration of the two-day ‘Bangladesh Journalism Conference’ held at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel in the capital on Friday.

“When we get a good report or strong investigative information, the first thing is that we have to control our greed. The more we can control our greed, the easier it is for us,” Shahed Mohammad Ali said.

He added that when an investigation becomes very sensitive or delicate, choosing the right time to publish turns into an important strategy. “When it becomes more delicate, we select the time that will create the least risk for me. Timing has always seemed to me to be the most important. Because choosing the time is important to minimise the challenges we hear about or to reduce their effect a little,” he explained.

The Daily Samakal editor noted that in choosing this time, preparation inside the newsroom alone is not enough. “The movements of various parties related to the story and outside the story have to be monitored. Outside the news, outside the newspaper, some more contacts have to be established with the actors who are with the story and outside the story. We cannot reach as far as we can, but we can assume that these actors are there. We also have to keep an eye on their movements.”

In many cases, strategies must be adopted to reduce the level of reaction, he said. “In many cases, we have to try to keep many people with us, so that at least they look a little kind during the reaction.”

Shahed Mohammad Ali observed that it is not possible to rush into big investigative reports. Newsrooms in Bangladesh are now trying to create investigative practices within small daily reports. “What we try to practice in the newsroom is how to adapt small quick investigations to daily stories. Through this, a habit is created, so that the courage to go for big investigations is created. At least a few people are created in the entire newsroom, who gradually start getting ready to do big investigations,” he said.

Highlighting the importance of teamwork, he stressed that it is almost impossible to conduct big investigations alone nowadays. “Corruption is a process, it’s a network and it’s a culture. Those who are involved in this corruption are a very large alliance. You can’t fight against that alliance alone.”

He added, “Creating a culture of collaboration among reporters is also a big challenge. Reporters generally do not want to collaborate easily. It is true, but there is also a risk of information leakage during collaboration. But I think that when it comes to big corruption or big investigations, there is not much opportunity to do it alone anymore. You have to work in small teams of two or three people.”

Shahed Mohammad Ali further said that decisions on how a big investigative report will be presented and how much will be revealed must consider the level of risk. Reflecting on his experience, he mentioned, “I have been with Daily Samakal for more than a year now, and so far I am fortunate that I have not personally encountered any obstacles in the financial corruption that Daily Samakal has been reporting on, especially bank-related and large groups involved in such corruption.”

Recalling his long stint at Prothom Alo, he said he was also lucky there as obstacles were relatively fewer and the resources to deal with challenges were much greater. “I am still free from such obstacles. I hope we can continue this in the future too,” he added optimistically.